Hypertext Webster Gateway: "samphire"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Samphire \Sam"phire\ (? or ?; 277), n. [F. l'herbe de Saint
Pierre. See {Saint}, and {Petrel}.] (Bot.)
(a) A fleshy, suffrutescent, umbelliferous European plant
({Crithmum maritimum}). It grows among rocks and on
cliffs along the seacoast, and is used for pickles.
Hangs one that gathers samphire, dreadful trade!
--Shak.
(b) The species of glasswort ({Salicornia herbacea}); --
called in England {marsh samphire}.
(c) A seashore shrub ({Borrichia arborescens}) of the West
Indies.
{Golden samphire}. See under {Golden}.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
samphire
n : fleshy maritime plant having fleshy stems with rudimentary
scalelike leaves and small spikes of minute flowers;
formerly used in making glass [syn: {glasswort}, {Salicornia
europaea}]
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